As fall begins and winter is around the corner, we all have to do everything we can to stay healthy. Illness can run havoc on a family and lead to missed school, missed work, and missed family gatherings. Regardless of which side of the aisle you fall on vaccines to keep you healthy, I encourage you to take proactive steps to building your immune system. Here are seven tips to build your immune system naturally.
- Rest: A lack of sleep has been proven to lower your immune system’s defense. Getting an additional hour of sleep per night can help give your body an added immune boost. Having shorter days during the fall and winter can help steer you. I think this is providential. Maybe we can learn something from nature and the hibernating animals during the winter.
Optimal sleep lasts 7-8 hours. Sleep and health studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed how a lack of sleep can lead to a weakened immune system, double the likelihood of depression, increase allergies, impair memory, concentration, mood, sexuality, and give you less control over blood sugar levels. Chronic sleeplessness is linked to inflammation and changes in the blood chemistry that may be behind a variety of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and neurological diseases.
- Good Nutrition: A lack of nutrients in your food means less fuel for your body. This will create a perfect environment for the immune system to weaken. The goal for food should be to eat more fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and foods that line the outside of the grocery store. These foods are the freshest and have the most nutrients. Organic foods have less artificial flavorings, sweeteners, and preservatives. Be sure to check out the local farmers’ markets. They are a great source for year-round fresh produce. Usually, they are locally grown and taste fantastic.
- Drink Water: Your body is estimated to be up to 70% water composition. Your body uses water to regulate body temperature, transport oxygen to all the cells of the body, protect your joints, and flush out toxins.
Coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks are diuretics. Unfortunately, they don’t work like water. They actually pull water from the cells of your body and cause dehydration. Green tea, although a diuretic, does have a benefit of having antioxidants.
- Stop Smoking: Not only are there 100’s of bad toxins in cigarette smoke, it also paralyzes the immune system. Smoke dries out nasal passages and paralyzes the small delicate hairs in your nasal passages and lungs responsible for protecting your body against viruses. One cigarette can paralyze these hairs for as long as 30 or 40 minutes. When these don’t work properly, they cannot defend you as they are designed.
- Immune-Boosting Supplements: Good immune building supplements can help fortify your defense system against illness. Here are a few below that can be beneficial:
- A good multi-vitamin (not a one-a-day) that is taken several times a day will help to add essential nutrients that may be missing from your daily diet.
- Vitamin C studies have shown that it helps to boost virus fighting cytokines that are found within the blood. This occurs within five hours of taking vitamin C.
- Other vitamins that are helpful to the immune system are Vitamin D3 and zinc.
- N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) can help prevent side effects caused by drug reactions and toxic chemicals, and helps break down mucus in the body. It is also known to have benefits in treating some respiratory conditions, such as bronchitis and COPD.
- Quercetin is found in many plants and foods such as red wine, onions, green tea, apples, and berries. Some of its benefits are antioxidation and anti-inflammatory that might help with swelling, killing cancer cells, controlling blood sugar, and preventing heart disease.
- Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is an herb that helps the immune system fight viral infections. It is used often with cancer patients with a weakened immune system. It should not be used by pregnant women, lactating women, or those using anticoagulant medications like Warfarin (Coumadin).
- Echinacea has long been used to stimulate the immune system. It is believed to increase the production of white blood cells and levels of interferon (important for the body’s response to viral infections).
- Wash your hands: Most viruses are spread by direct contact. An example would be someone sneezing on their hands and then touching items that may be touched by other individuals. It is believed that viruses live longer during the cold months which can mean they can live for several hours. Washing your hands often and sanitizing more will help decrease the spread of the virus.
- Boost your nervous system: Science has proven that chiropractic care can be an excellent way to boost your immune system. When the joints of your spine become misaligned and fixated, they can irritate the delicate nerves that carry messages from the brain to the body. Small irritation of the nerves can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system.
Dr. Pero, Chief of Cancer Prevention Research at New York’s Preventative Medicine Institute and Professor of Medicine in Environmental Health at New York University, did a study and found that “chiropractic may optimize whatever genetic abilities you have so that you can fully resist serious disease. The chiropractic patients had a 200% greater immune competence than people who did not receive chiropractic care and a 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer or other serious diseases…”
Your brain and nervous system control your entire body and every organ in it. It also controls your immune system and its ability to function well. A fully-functioning nervous system with no stress on the spine creates a sound healing environment and increased immune system function.
I hope you will take a proactive approach to staying healthy. The best defense to fighting any illness is always proactive prevention. Create a strong immune system and it will help take care of you!
-by Dr. Brandon Crouch
About the Author: Dr. Brandon Crouch is a Chiropractor with Crouch Family Chiropractic. He is an advocate for being proactive when it comes to your health and encourages people to make healthy, informed decisions. For more information you can go online at www.crouchfamilychiro.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CrouchFamilyChiropractic.
(Disclaimer: Always consult with your health care provider before starting any new exercise, diet, or supplementation program. This information is not intended to provide medical advice or replace information that is provided by your health care professional. These statements have not been reviewed or approved by the Food and Drug Administration.)
